Designer Fast-Fashion Collabs: Has the Frenzy Gone Too Far?

by anonymous

Manic Panic: Shoppers brave the rain outside a Paris H&M for the opening of Sonia Rykiel's collection with the swedish retailer.Photo: Getty Images

Teen Vogue investigates the extremes to which fashion fanatics will go to get the latest designer fast-fashion collaboration.

Anyone following the November 20 opening of the much-anticipated Lanvin for H&M collection on Twitter got a rather unsettling surprise. "There was a STABBING for cutting in line," declared one tweeter, reporting from a store location in midtown Manhattan. "3 people in ambulances. 2 in handcuffs."

Could it be? Stabbing someone for a dress? (Albeit an impossibly chic, reasonably priced one.) Within hours, H&M reps took to Twitter themselves to declare that accounts of such an incident were false. No one had been stabbed.
But for many, the mere fact that the rumor had been started was enough to ask: Has the hoopla surrounding designer fast-fashion collaborations crossed the line?

It's certainly reached an all-time high. While there might not have been any slashings, the line's debut drove shoppers across the country to extreme measures—lining up outside as much as 24 hours in advance, sleeping in cars in mall parking lots, and fueling up on Starbucks coffee from makeshift stands. (To quote fashion blogger Bryanboy, describing the crowd outside his local H&M: "HARDCORE!!!") This on the heels of Rodarte's 55-piece collection almost completely selling out hours after going live on Target's Web site, and band jackets from Stella McCartney's one-off collection for GapKids disappearing from shelves the day of their arrival.

What gives? "It's exciting to get a deal—no matter who you are," explains stylist Kate Young, whose client Natalie Portman has worn pieces from both Lanvin for H&M and Rodarte for Target on the red carpet. But fashion blogger Susie Lau (aka Susie Bubble), who blogged about Lanvin for H&M, believes another factor is at play. "People are just blinded by the hype," Lau says. That would perhaps explain these collections' eBay aftermaths, where going rates are hardly bargains. (In one instance, a Lanvin for H&M one-shouldered canary dress that originally sold for $199 was being offered for $750, close to the cost of regular Lanvin.) Vena Cava codesigner Sophie Buhai, whose collaboration with Gap in 2009 incited in-store and online mayhem, agrees with Lau. "There's a huge audience that thrives on the race to get the last Kate Moss for Topshop dress," she says. "That's the element that keeps it special—the fact that
it's limited." But Buhai nevertheless admits she finds the inflation flattering: "If you're on eBay and the price has doubled, it means you have a cult somewhere."

H&M, for its part, has taken steps to control the chaos with added security,
extended store hours, and a wristband system that limits customers to fifteen-minute shifts within a designated area the day of one-off openings. "We want to give the greatest number of customers the opportunity to shop," explains
company spokesperson Jennifer Ward. Still, the most obvious solution—simply making more of the stuff people want—isn't going to happen, at least not anytime soon. "Our goal is to always offer something new," Ward says.

In the meantime, with scores more designer fast-fashion ventures on the horizon (such as Calypso for Target and Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's), the madness doesn't look like it's going to let up. "Our customers have to be very creative to assure they are able to get their hands on designer fashion for H&M prices," Ward says. "Fortunately, there were no fashion victims at the expense of this last collaboration." —AMANDA FITZSIMONS